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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818702">Welcome Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowanmoonlight/pseuds/Rowanmoonlight'>Rowanmoonlight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cages, Full Moon, Gen, Hurt Remus Lupin, Remus Lupin Needs a Hug, Remus Lupin Whump, Whump, Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:55:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,639</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowanmoonlight/pseuds/Rowanmoonlight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Whumptober day 4- running out of time-caged</p><p>Remus Lupin goes on a special mission for Dumbledore. Infiltrate the werewolves. Fenrir Greyback makes sure his wolf is unbroken by forcing Remus to spend the full moon in a cage. Happy Easter to him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fenrir Greyback &amp; Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Welcome Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Easter in 1981 was a full moon. Isn’t that fun?</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remus Lupin had once been a happy young boy. Then he had been a scared child. An anxious preteen and once again happy as a teenager. But he wasn’t at Hogwarts anymore. He was in the middle of a war and Dumbledore, the man who had given him everything, his education, his friends, his life, needed him for a special mission. Infiltrate Voldemort’s werewolves.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He would do anything for Dumbledore, to try and repay him. But this? To come into contact with the man who had ruined his life and see the pain that his brothers and sisters lived in? Remus was an excellent dueler, great at partner combat with his friends, had healing skills, among many other talents. But it all came back to his lycanthropy, didn’t it? Even for the man who saw past it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So there Remus was, on a beautiful Easter morning, growling at a woman who was trying to steal some of his breakfast scraps. He had barely been there a week and it was already habit to growl and snap instead of speak. It made him feel sick to his stomach, made him want to claw at his throat until he could rip out those animalistic sounds and leave only human behind. Instead, he imagined James and Lily and Sirius and Peter and little baby Harry gathered around a table, sharing jokes and finding light in war.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The day crawled by and sprinted ahead at the same time. Tensions were high as sundown approached. A fight had broken out already, two teenage boys leaping at each other, tearing with dirty nails and biting with yellow teeth. The whole group was unkempt and bitter and unused to human interaction. He could have been one of them. This is what Dumbledore had saved him from. That was why he was doing this. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Dumbledore sent him right back to the werewolves as soon as he could.</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The sun sank lower and lower in the sky. As soon as it disappeared they would all transform, lose all control and become violent beasts. A hand on his shoulder shook Remus out of his thoughts. He turned to see a grinning Greyback and resisted the urge to throw up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Come, my son. It’s almost time.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remus dug deep crescents into his palms. He wanted to scream and rage and kill this monster. He wasn’t his father. He cursed him to a life of misery and loneliness and poverty. He was the reason his real father sobbed on nights of the full moon as his tiny son ripped himself apart. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I feared that you had been, </span> <span class="s2"> <em>domesticated</em></span><span class="s1">, for so many years, but you came back to me in the end. After all, no child of mine is a pet. Now, you must stay the night in here. I’m sure you understand my precaution. We must make sure that your wolf is still free and true to its nature.” Greyback had pulled open a door to a small room that held nothing but a silver cage.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Silver didn’t actually harm werewolves in human form, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant either, and sustained contact on the full moon could cause burns. But that wasn’t what choked Remus’s throat as he spoke. “A- a cage?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Regrettable, I know.” Greyback gave a lazy smile, exposing unnaturally sharp teeth. “But it’s for the safety of the pack, to make sure you won’t try to kill any of them, and your safety, to make sure your true self is healthy. I’ll be waiting for you when it’s over, my son.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The cage taunted Remus. “Ah, yes, yes of- of course. I’ll- I’ll just-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Greyback caught his hand gently. “It’s okay to fear a cage, good to. It means you cannot be contained, that you are meant to be wild and free.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yes, Remus feared cages. When he was much, much younger, barely bitten, his father had had one for him. An attempt to keep him from destroying the house when he was shifted. But the wolf hated it so much that Remus always came back dripping in blood and eventually the cage went away. His legs trembled as he took a step forward, pulling his hand away from Greyback.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Shaking, Remus entered the silver cage. He had to bend his neck so his head wouldn’t hit the top and stretching his arms out he could touch both sides. The silver on his feet sent an odd tingle through his body. The door locked shut with a damning click and Greyback left the room. Remus quickly stripped and shoved his clothes through the bars. It would be nice to have his clothes stay intact.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was cold in the empty room and Remus couldn’t tell if he was shivering from cold or fear. Probably both. He clutched at his bare arms running fingers over familiar scars that made up his patchwork skin. He would be getting more that night without the presence of Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The thought of his friends was bittersweet. They were all out in the world, making a difference in the war, fighting for the Order. James and Lily were preparing to go into hiding soon and Sirius would be too. Peter likely would as well. Easter was their last planned get together. And he had Order business to do. </span> <em> <span class="s2">And he had to be caged while everyone celebrated with their families.</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">He wanted to be in Godric’s Hollow, sharing a dinner with them. He wanted to hold baby Harry in his arms, no longer afraid that he would be tainted just by his presence. He wanted to talk spells with Lily and make fun of James’s mother henning and punch Sirius when he made puns and share silent looks of amusement with Peter. He wanted to go home. He want to go </span> <span class="s2"> <em>home.</em></span><span class="s1"> He wanted to leave the retched home of Greyback’s werewolves who believed Voldemort’s dictatorship was the only was to get respect because they had never been shown kindness. He wanted out of this </span> <span class="s2"> <em>cage</em></span><span class="s1">. But he was out of time.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Remus could feel the exact moment that the last rays of sun disappeared.The transformation always started by the bones in his legs snapping throwing him to the ground. They shifted and rearranged, joined by his spine and arms next. The pain was always excruciating and while Remus could tolerate it, he never got used to it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A scream left his throat as his hands shrunk and reformed. Hair grew out of every pore like a million knives plunged through his skin. An empty sob filled the quiet room as sharp teeth filled Remus’s mouth. The sound was half human half wolf, all mournful pain. This was the worst part. The few moments before his brain completely changed, when his mind was split between vicious instinct and human terror. When he could think of his life but it was clouded by hate and anger.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">How dare Dumbledore ask this of him? How could society have failed werewolves so badly that this was preferable? How could his friends enjoy themselves together while he was forced into a cage that burned him while his body turned against him? How could-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">-</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Remus gradually woke up. Eventually, his consciousness returned enough to register the pain. Sitting up he hissed as he moved his broken arm. His nails had been worn down to nubs. </span> <span class="s2"> <em>From scratching at the floor like a filthy dog</em></span><span class="s1"><em>.</em> There was blood splattered across his body as well as the floor. Many new scars to add to his collection then. A tentative touch to his face revealed a deep gash across his cheek. Wonderful.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Less normal than new cuts and broken bones were the burns. Of course the silver had burned him overnight. Minor burns ran in straight lines along his side from where he must have slammed into the bars. His palms also had burns across them that were a bit more severe. More wounds sure to scar. Remus had the overwhelming urge to cry as he catalogued injuries with practiced efficiency. How long until the wolf just killed him? </span> <span class="s2"> <em>How long until he killed himself?</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Don’t cry my son, the night is over and I am here.” There was a deep voice, gruff but comforting. There was the sound of the cage unlocking hut Remus couldn’t hear over his uneven sobs. He couldn’t look away from his burned and bloodied hands.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A rough skinned hand touched Remus’s chin and he stumbled backwards, gasping slightly as a claw mark was twisted. The hand stayed though, and gently tilted his head upwards. Remus unconsciously leaned into the warm touch. Greyback was crouched down next to him, yellow eyes filled with worry but no hostility. “You’re okay now. You’re free. You’re so free now. I’ll heal you up and then you can come join the rest of the pack.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Greyback cast wordless healing spells over the burns with practiced ease. He then pulled out a healing salve that Remus recognized from morning with Madam Promfrey. The salve was cool against the ripped skin. Greyback flicked his wand once more and the blood disappeared. “Sorry about your arm. I never got the hang of healing broken bones.”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“S’alright.” Remus blearily reached for the pile of clothes, making sure he was still pressed against Greyback’s side, and grabbed his wand. </span> <span class="s2"><em>He was safe, he was family, he would take care of him.</em> </span> <span class="s1">His wand movement was as perfect as always and he barely flinched as the bone healed itself.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Maybe that school was good for something. Come now son. It’s time to join your brothers and sisters for real.”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Greyback smiled. Remus finally pulled away from Greyback </span> <span class="s2"> <em>from father</em></span><span class="s1"> in horror as his eyes focused. Greyback’s pointed teeth were covered in blood that slowly trickled down his chin. “Welcome home.”</span></p>
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